Chit-Chat: daily vidya chat

[pkmin3033]

careful now, be grateful for what you have now lest nintendo, sony, or microsoft figure out a way to incorporate two factor authentication alongside a fingerprint scan every time you boot up your console

Next gen, I'll bet...from Nintendo at least. Just give them time. Inconvenience is the way of the future!

As for retro vs. modern games...it depends on what you classify as "retro" honestly. I do feel that games reached their peak a few years ago and the majority of what comes out now is either derivative or severely lacking in one area or another, but modern games that get it right are the most enjoyable experience I get from games these days. Part of the reason it's so hard to say is because of the obscene number of ports/remasters/remakes the last two generations have had, though...

 

[Venonat in Space]

Well now that's i'm going through withdrawal symptoms of the Switch.....I really miss retro. ;-; Thank goodness there's a surviving N64 in my room. Don't ask how I got my N64...long story. I think i'll play it when I get home from school today.

I might get Pokemon Stadium 2 or another N64 game next weekend. There's a retro game store literally two to five minutes from my house by car so ........ yeah.

EDIT: Any recommendations for N64 games PM me.

 

[machomuu]

Does anyone else here prefer retro games over new games?

Nah, not really. I feel like I probably felt different in my teens but these days I end up realizing that differentiating between the two is kind of a waste of time. Or I guess it's a waste of time now, anyway, games feel like they're a lot less trendy than they were a generation ago, in the sense that there isn't really a genre that has a monopolous influence gaming sphere overall like FPS did back then. My basic rule of thumb is that if you find yourself not enjoying or looking forward to many games these days, outside of fatigue, stop eyeing the AAA sphere exclusively.

Some of the most memorable games from the past 5 years for me have been One Way Heroics, Huniepop, Undertale, One Finger Death Punch, CrossCode, the Risk of Rains- there's no Rain World in the AAA sphere, y'know? You don't see Nippon Ichi making games like Soul Nomad or Phantom Brave these days because it's just safer to go for remasters, ports, and sequels- that and they're not doing to hot. And this is true for a lot of companies. That freedom for the IPs to branch out in weird and interesting ways just gets more dangerous as shit gets more expensive to make.

But like

On the other hand I enjoyed Breath of the Wild more than any of the other entries in the series, and that specific one kinda helped me come to terms with what I do and don't enjoy about the series. Super Mario Odyssey is basically the Breath of the Wild of Mario, and these were only released a few years ago. FFXIV, I'd say, is the best MMO out there and is one of the most interesting comebacks of a single title in gaming history. The libraries for the DS and 3DS eclipse pretty much the combined libraries of quality titles on their predecessors and rivals, and that stuff I said about games relying on remasters, ports, and sequels has been a problem since the early popularization of gaming.

So I'd say we're in a really good place right now. Especially with the indie sphere being in the place that it is right now, the idea of "hidden gems" has never been so relevant.

 

[pkmin3033]

there isn't really a genre that has a monopolous influence gaming sphere overall like FPS did back then.

No, these days we're being buried in "open world" games that, the majority of the time, don't actually NEED an open world and are often hindered by it. It's a feature more than a genre, although these days I'd wager most RPGs or Action/Adventure games will push it as their biggest feature with very little understanding of why the concept was popularised in the first place. "Linear" is a very dirty word in today's industry for some reason...sometimes I think the backlash from FFXIII is to blame, though.

 

[machomuu]

No, these days we're being buried in "open world" games that, the majority of the time, don't actually NEED an open world and are often hindered by it. It's a feature more than a genre, although these days I'd wager most RPGs or Action/Adventure games will push it as their biggest feature with very little understanding of why the concept was popularised in the first place. "Linear" is a very dirty word in today's industry for some reason...sometimes I think the backlash from FFXIII is to blame, though.

lol I don't disagree overall, we're definitely still in a big trendy age and I feel like Open World games are probably the greatest offender of being unfortunately trendy. Like, Nier Automata? Look I want to like that game but if there's ever been a game that was open world when it didn't need to be it's that. I'm sure these developers put a lot of time and money into them but like

Stop. Please.

Having to run five hours to get to an objective through a sea of nothing and incredibly trivial loot drops isn't exactly my idea of fun. At this point an Open World is just a buzz word used to garner player interest and avoid interesting level-design and structure. And artificially boast playtime. Not all games but a good, good chunk of 'em, especially these days. I almost feel like some devs think it's one of those ideas you can tag onto any idea, you know, "X but with a vast open-world!", when in reality it...no.

 

[Arcaneum]

RETRO GAMES ARE THE BEST

 

[colours]

partially relevant perhaps but i really do miss playing my n64 games....

 

[Cid]

I wonder if they'll make an N64 Classic one of these days. And if they do, which games would they put in it? 🤔

 

[pkmin3033]

I sincerely hope not, although it wouldn't surprise me if they do. Nintendo seem determined to not allow people to access legacy content in a meaningful fashion - we have overpriced mini consoles, and a rubbish online service that drip-feeds titles and is far, FAR worse than the old eShops were on the Wii and Wii U. Why can't they just let us own the games we want to own? =/

 

[Cid]

They saw money in the Netflix model and wanted to make one for video games, evidently. I do wish they still gave us the option to download retro video games more instead of restricting it to Nintendo Switch Online subscribers.

 

[machomuu]

I think my big problem is that they've been doing a pretty bad job of it for a while. The Wii was probably the best of these by far- The Wii- and knowing that that VC eclipsed anything that came after is scary.

By bad job in this case I mean they hurt themselves due to how they're handling it. NES Classic shortages not being responded to didn't exactly do much for sales, the VC for Wii U being essentially barren, and the games being offered up as extras feel...well, extra.

Like...they'd actually make more by releasing a large number of games at a trivial price than dripfeeding titles at a premium and hoping people re-buy them/attaching a small portion of a console's library to an online service that basically no one's buying it for and increasing said library at a snail's pace. These days piracy w/ homebrew's never looked so delicious.

 

[pkmin3033]

There's nothing wrong with the Netflix model persay, but it needs to be supported by other options, and it needs to be fleshed out sufficiently to justify the purchase. It isn't. I mean, when we look at Sega, they have....

1. The Megadrive Mini
2. Individual titles being released in the SEGA Ages line
3. The Megadrive/Genesis Classics Collection

Nintendo cannot do something like this...why, exactly? There is SUBSTANTIALLY more profit in appealing to a wider range of consumers and offering them the choice of how they want to experience these games than there is in just making it their sub-par Netflix model or nothing. I realise that they need to include something to make paying for online (which is essentially all NSO is) appealing. But it doesn't have to be - and shouldn't be - the entire basis of their legacy content. I mean, imagine how much money they'd make from selling individual SNES titles, or a SNES Classic Collection that had even half the games the Megadrive one had. They could release them in parts, charging full price each time, and they'd make a fortune doing that. Nobody would complain either, because it's Nintendo. Nintendo can get away with absolutely anything.

It took them a whole year to get SNES titles on there, drip-feeding us 2-3 NES games at a time prior to that. Nintendo feeling the need to deliberately understock the NES/SNES Classic to drive up demand is an outdated and anti-consumer practice, too - video games are fundamentally not the same as toys. If you're a small toymaker then sure, it pays to do this so that more people will want to buy your product. This does not work in the video games industry, or as a corporate business. You just antagonise your customers. You lose money. It's ridiculous. I've said it before, but Nintendo are dangerously out of touch with their fans. Or they're just so complacent they don't care. When you have as strong an industry presence as they do you can do anything and the criticism will never tarnish your company image.

It is absolutely acceptable to pirate classic Nintendo games. This idea that we should just go without them is disgusting. Nintendo's behaviour in protecting it's IP is absolutely unjustified from a moral perspective when they continually refuse to provide a viable alternative.

Honestly Nintendo's stance on legacy content is the thing I hate the most about them, at least for now. I say "for now" because if we get more titles like Mario Kart Tour hitting the mobile industry they're basically going to become like any other AAA corporate trash out there that utilises gambling mechanics in video games.

 

[Cid]

Honestly Nintendo's stance on legacy content is the thing I hate the most about them, at least for now. I say "for now" because if we get more titles like Mario Kart Tour hitting the mobile industry they're basically going to become like any other AAA corporate trash out there that utilises gambling mechanics in video games.

Let's hope Nintendo earns enough money with decent video game industry practices to never resort to mobile gambling mechanics ever again. :'(

The thought of them turning into any other universally panned video game company is... eurgh. I don't want to think about it.

That aside, I'm really happy that they're experiencing a resurgence of popularity from what I can tell. My friends all have a Switch, even the ones I didn't expect. Comparing the popularity of the Switch from the people I know to the popularity of the 3DS, the Switch is definitely streets ahead. I'm excited to see what's in store for the console in the near future.

 

[User Anon 1848]

Holding out for the Switch Pro is going to be a pain. Hopefully it's announced before the PS5 comes out or else I might be tempted to go back to Sony for another generation.

 

[pkmin3033]

I don't think we'll see an upgraded Switch until 2021 at the earliest...probably another 2 year gap between models. Although I'd expect it to come well before September, since PS5 and whatever Microsoft are putting out next should be out by then...although Nintendo have always lagged behind in hardware specs so I'm not sure if that'd make any difference.

Backwards compatability is the only nudge I needed to buy PS5 tbh. My PS4 sounds like its about to take off through the ceiling, and in my experience Sony consoles are good for about 5 years before they slowly start to fail...at least, if you play them nearly every day like I do. xD

 

[Lipstick Vogue]

So there we have it, I'm finally a part of the pc master race. Will be pwning noobs in Siege and tracing rays with the best of them in no time.

Spoiler:

 

[Fleurdelis]

ah, another cultural individual who plays Siege

 

[EC]

Looks like Halo: Reach comes to the MCC on the XBOX today, and the PC on the 3rd.

 

[Fleurdelis]

While everyone is on that SwSh hype im addicted to AoE II Definitive Edition, love the graphical updates

 

[Lee Know]

Really wish my Vita hadn't died in the middle of getting really into the Trails series. I was so intrigued that I picked up both Cold Steel 1 and 2 and made it halfway through CS1 when my Vita's memory card (or physical memory itself) became corrupted. Was really demoralizing and I still have the games sitting untouched in my room. Someday I'll have the strength to pick up CS1, 2, 3 for PS4 and go through the entire series.